Scar Tissue
by madjedijello
Summary: When it happened to me, there wasn't that moment where my life flashed before my eyes – there was no panic, I didn't freeze, my hands weren't shaking. I reacted. I put myself in danger to save her. It will be one of the decisions that I will always remember, the trauma will always be there in the back of my mind, but I will never regret my reaction and its reciprocation. M for lang


-"Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open." -John Barrymore-

You couldn't say it was just an average rainy day on the Olympic Peninsula – it was raining harder. The rain wasn't angry, just a constant downpour that would get you soaked in 2.5 seconds flat. If you hadn't lived in this area, then you probably would not be out on the roads in weather like this. But residents of the Olympic Peninsula were nothing if not professionals on the wet roads. Or so I thought.

I shook my long black hair out and ran my fingers through it, trying to return it to its naturally straight mom and sister were in the front seats, discussing my sisters latest boy. I looked over next to me to see that my niece had finally fallen asleep. I tucked the damp blanket around her closer, hoping it would keep her warm. I looked up to the front just as my sister set her cell phone on the dashboard to fix her belt.

I had had just enough time to start to feel content with myself when it happened... Another car came shooting around the curve, and hit right into my back driver's side door. When I saw the car coming directly at us, and it was obvious it had no other course than to me, I flung myself across the backseat, shielding my niece's car-seat. As the impact came, my ribs crushed into the plastic base of the safety seat, and something flew to hit my cheek, the pain making spots appear behind my eyes and my whole face to go numb. Thankfully, I had a high pain tolerance due to my long history of injuries.

I could hear yelling from the other car as the people ran over to us. My family began to stir and try to free themselves, while I was just dazed and confused. After a few short moments, they were able to get my niece out of the car, then I felt two pairs of arms begin to pull me out. I had my hands over my face, but I felt strong hands grip my hips and set me on the back of the car.

The rain was falling slower now, but still very heavily. I removed my hands and looked up to see who had pulled me from the wreckage, so to speak. I can't really describe what happened next without sounding extremely cheesey. But I'm telling you, when our eyes met, something happened...I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. It was kind of like tasting something new, this feeling was unfamiliar and felt odd on my tongue.

I took in the scene, (once I ripped my eyes away) and there were four guys that looked similar and oddly familiar. There was the angry one, the nervous one, the calm one, and the bleeding one. The bleeding one was in front of me, his hands still on my hips. I could feel his warmth seep in through the denim of my jeans, making a warm spot on my otherwise cold body.

"V, are you okay sweetheart?" My mother yelled from the other side of the car, where she and my sister were checking the baby over for injuries and trying to calm her..

"Yeah, just some broken bones. Nothing I can't handle." I responded quickly. The boys did a double take and looked at me more closely. The calm one walked up and started to look me over with the bleeding one.

"Hey, doll, what hurts? I saw you fling yourself over the baby from the other car." The calm one began talking. The boys did another double take, with was kind of creepy since they were oddly synchronized. I would've laughed at their actions if I wasn't sure it was going to hurt.

"Bruised ribs, and maybe a broken cheekbone; I sure hope not, I'll be out for the rest of the season if it is broken. And I cannot have that." I paused to take a breath to try to control the pain. "Also, can you call Sam? I think I'm going to have to go to the hospital."

"Why would we call Sam?" The bleeding one asked.

"Well, he is kind of my cousin, and I kind of need a ride to the hospital."

After I was escorted to the hospital in style, (and by style I mean in an ambulance) and it was only moments later that my apparent "heroic" actions had been spread around the small Forks Hospital, just something else to add to my name. I was quickly put into a room by myself while my mother and sister were having my niece looked over.

"Veda Uley?" A blonde doctor asked my name as he opened the door. Ah, the famous Dr. Cullen. A look of recognition crossed his face. With his help the rumor of me being a patient spread, I was quickly whisked to the x-ray by two awestruck nurses. That's what you get for being a local celebrity, and now apparently a hero.

When I returned to my room, Sam, Emily, and the four various boys were waiting for me. Thankfully, they had let me keep my clothes on and hadn't stuck me into one of those horrid gowns yet. Hopefully, I would be out before then.

"Oh, Sweetheart!" Emily gasped when she saw the swelling in my face. "What on Earth happened to you?" she fluttered around me, trying to get me settled.

"When I saw the car coming at us," I was interrupted by a low growl from Sam, but continued on, "I threw myself over Abi's car seat, and my ribs hit the side of the base hard, and Talia's cell phone flew from the dash and hit me in the face."

This time, multiple growls went up.

"Yeah, it was a pretty glamorous experience," I said sarcastically with a chuckle, "but I really hope this doesn't keep me of the field... Or heads will roll." I threatened.

"Dr. Cullen was telling us about his new interest in sports medicine, and he said that from the looks of your injuries that you should be back on the field soon, but that he would have to wait for the x-rays to be certain." Emily reassured me and she sat on the foot of my bed.

As Dr. Cullen walked in a few seconds later, anxiety filled me. "Let's get this show on the road, doc."

"Well, it looks like nothing is broken. Your ribs and cheek are just bruised. I do recommend that you stay out of games or meets for two weeks, but you can still practice, as long as it doesn't get too rough. When you start to feel pain, you need to stop, or you can make this worse and ruin your career, understand? We don't want to make it worse." He stressed as he diagnosed me.

"Thank you sweet baby Jesus!" I yelled once he was done. "Let's get out of here!"

"I'll start on your discharge papers." He chuckled as he left the room.

I then turned to look at the boys that had caused the accident. The bleeding one was no longer bleeding. He was now... the attractive one. Yeah, that fit him. The calm one was still calm, the nervous one was pacing, and the angry one was glaring at the ceiling. Emily noticing me looking and began to introduce them to me.

"So, Veda, this is Paul," the angry one, "Quil," the nervous one, "Jared," the calm one, "and Embry."


End file.
